A NELSON man who suffered asbestosis after years of working in the Scottish shipbuilding industry, died in Burnley General Hospital two months' after being admitted with breathing difficulties.

An inquest in Burnley heard John Cairns, 72, of Charles Street, Nelson, was in the process of making a claim against his former employers in shipbuilding.

His daughter Maureen Taylor, of Rosyth, Fife, said her father moved to East Lancashire about 15 years ago to work as a joiner with Pendle Council.

He was diagnosed as suffering from asbestosis in 1994. Coroner David Smith adjourned the inquest pending further inquiries.